Sadler’s Wells announces new programming for Spring 2026

Works by Pina Bausch, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Shobana Jeyasingh, Dada Masilo, Crystal Pite, Louise Lecavalier, Meryl Tankard, Michelle Dorrance, Sophie Laplane, Tiler Peck, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Sade and Kristina Alleyne, Emma Evelein, Alexandrina Yewande Hemsley and Charlotta Öfverholm feature

Season showcases best work being created around the world with artists from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom & USA represented

World premieres from Sir Wayne McGregor, Kameron N. Saunders, BalletBoyz and Rambert

Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Sadler’s Wells Artistic Director and Co-Chief Executive, said:

"We are delighted to be announcing a brand-new season today brimming with some of the most exciting dance works. The new programme showcases work from pioneering female choreographers from around the globe - from Crystal Pite to Pina Bausch, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker to Dada Masilo and many more. 
 
There are dance interpretations of Shakespeare's best-known plays, retrospectives of renowned UK companies, and presentations from artists working at the very vanguard of technology. In April, our biennial Elixir Festival asks what it means to be an older dancer and includes the hotly anticipated UK premiere of our production Kontakthof - Echoes of '78, conceived and directed by Meryl Tankard. 
 
At Sadler's Wells we say you really can get dance from every angle and the range of dance styles on show over the Spring season demonstrates this. Audiences can enjoy ballet, tap, hip hop, contemporary, tango, flamenco, hip hop, mime and acrobatics across our venues next year. We look forward to sharing this with you."
 
Elixir Festival 

The biennial Elixir Festival returns for two weeks in April 2026, taking place across Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Sadler’s Wells East. The Festival, which challenges perceptions around dance and age, begins with the UK premiere of Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78, a Sadler’s Wells, Pina Bausch Foundation and Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch production. The major new version of Bausch’s seminal work by former company member Meryl Tankard, reunites her with other members from the original cast and arrives in London following a sold-out international tour. Sadler’s Wells resident Company of Elders returns with a double bill, including work by John-William Watson and Charlotta Öfverholm. Canadian powerhouse Louise Lecavalier returns in a brand-new solo inspired by Carlo Rovelli’s Écrits Vagabonds, with more programming to be announced. 

Pioneers of contemporary dance 

Sadler’s Wells spring season sees a lineup of contemporary dance pioneers, starting with Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch presenting the legendary choreographer’s penultimate work ’Sweet Mambo’, for its first presentation at Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker returns with her company Rosas in a collaboration with Radouan Mriziga. The work is an exploration of Antonio Vivaldi’s iconic piece of music ‘The Four Seasons’ inspired by the impending climate crisis.

There are two different takes on Shakespeare this season: the late great, award-winning South African choreographer Dada Masilo’s final work HAMLET reimagines Shakespeare’s play told through the eyes of Ophelia. Meanwhile, Shobana Jeyasingh offers a bold and imaginative new work We Caliban, an original take on Shakespeare’s last play, The Tempest.

For the past year Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sir Wayne McGregor has been working with Rambert School, London, and the famed Juilliard School, New York, to present a full-length world premiere. This transatlantic partnership aims to inspire, develop, and empower the next generation of exceptional dance artists exploring the boundaries of dance creativity. 

Three seminal British companies present evenings celebrating their body of work. Acclaimed dance company Rambert celebrates its centenary in 2026 with a mixed bill featuring work from (LA)HORDE, Emma Evelein and a brand-new commission. Sadler’s Wells Associate Artists BalletBoyz returns with their brand-new production Still Pointless: BalletBoyz at 25, the world premiere marks the 25th Anniversary of the company’s critically acclaimed debut, Pointless. Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Russell Maliphant presents three of his powerful solos, taking to the stage himself in In A Landscape as well as a performance by Alina Cojocaru.

Following a critically acclaimed runs in 2022 and 2024, world-renowned flamenco guitarist Paco Peña’s show Solera returns to Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Ballet with attitude

Sadler’s Wells continues its year-round Ballet with attitude programme, including presentations from the best companies in the art form nationally and internationally. 

After its sold-out world premiere in New York and hit season at Sadler’s Wells in 2023, two-time UK National Dance Awards winner and New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck returns with Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends.

English National Ballet presents a programme including a new work from Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Crystal Pite and a world premiere by Kameron N. Saunders, who has worked with the likes of Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan. 

Scottish Ballet’s choreographer-in-residence Sophie Laplane and co-creator, James Bonas present Mary, Queen of Scots with new music by the team behind Coppélia, performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra.   

Northern Ballet's Gentleman Jack brings remarkable the story of Anne Lister, which inspired a hit TV series, to the stage and is choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa with new live music by Peter Salem.  

Carlos Acosta presents his revival of Don Quixote, the 19th-century masterpiece is danced by Birmingham Royal Ballet accompanied by music played live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. 

Matthew Bourne’s award-winning iconic The Car Man returns to Sadler's Wells in summer 2026, loosely based on Bizet’s opera.

The Peacock Theatre sees two family offerings with brilliant introductions to ballet for children. English National Ballet returns with My First Ballet: Cinderella, featuring a narrator whilst London Children's Ballet presents a revival of their 2022 production Anne of Green Gables, including a cast of dancers aged 9-16. 

Artists at the cutting edge 

Alexander Whitley Dance Company presents a double bill including a radical perspective on Stravinsky’s masterpiece The Rite of Spring, as well as new work Mirror, both exploring the ongoing tension between human autonomy and AI.

Newly appointed Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist and acclaimed tap dancer Michelle Dorrance and b-girl Ephrat Asherie present The Center Will Not Hold. This marks the first Dorrance Dance Production, moving the company into a new stage of developing original works which deepen the relationship between tap dance and other dance forms.

Breakin’ Convention Festival returns this Spring, with Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Jonzi D hosting the very best international hip hop dance theatre acts. This year, the Festival includes a family weekend at Sadler’s Wells East. 

Founders of award-winning Alleyne Dance Sadé and Kristina Alleyne create a brand-new work for National Youth Dance Company (NYDC) 2025/26. The work receives its world premiere at Dance East, Ipswich, in April kicking off a national tour that includes a performance at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. 

Interdisciplinary dance company Yewande 103 presents Many Lifetimes in the Lilian Baylis Studio, a dance installation steeped in personal archives and accompanied by live music from Bianca Wilson and Femi Oriogun-Williams. Alexandrina Yewande Hemsley continues her enquiries into tidal cycles of love, loss and repair, working collaboratively with dancers, musicians and disability access advocates. 

BULLYACHE makes their Sadler's Wells debut with A Good Man is Hard to Find, which won the international choreographic call out for Venice Biennale 2025, selected by Sir Wayne McGregor. Sadler’s Wells East hosts an East Late on the Friday night which extends the life of the show into the public spaces following the performance.

In January, MimeLondon presents two productions including a reimagined version of Gecko’s The Wedding, at Sadler’s Wells East. This acclaimed show invites audiences to consider the contracts and commitments that shape our lives. While Compagnie le Fils du Grand Réseau presents BIGRE / “Fish Bowl” at the Peacock Theatre, taking inspiration from the infamous Parisian theatre Grand Guignol. 

Entertainment at the Peacock

The Peacock Theatre plays home to a range of entertainment this Spring. Following sold out 2018 and 2022 runs at the Peacock Theatre, World Tango Champion Germán Cornejo returns with his company for the internationally acclaimed Tango After Dark, a love letter to the Argentine tango. 

The all-male comedy ballet company Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo returns for the first time in three years as part of a Dance Consortium UK tour, with their unique blend of dance, comedy and high-camp, suitable for all ages.

Following hugely successful runs of Wings of the Phoenix in 2019 and 2024, YAMATO unveil their brand-new production: “Hito no Chikara” – The Power of Human Strength.

Onyx Productions makes their Peacock Theatre debut with 360 ALLSTARS featuring an international cast of World Champion and World Record holding artists and athletes, offering a fusion of the artistry of street culture including BMX tricks, basketball magic, beatboxing and acrobatics.

After a critically acclaimed sell out season in July 2025, GODZ returns to the Peacock Theatre with an adapted version of their debut piece.
Finally Stories – The Tap Dance Sensation returns to kick off a new UK tour after a sold-out run in London at the end of 2024, bringing together urban jazz, tap and percussion.

Tickets go on sale to Sadler’s Wells Patrons on Monday 10 November, to Rehearsal Members on Wednesday 12 November, Members on Friday 14 November and to the general public on Monday 17 November 2025.